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Southeastern Arizona Communication Center presents FY26 budget request and subscriber expansion plans
Summary
The Southeastern Arizona Communication Center (CECOM) director presented FY26 budget plans, staffing gains, a new transparent subscriber fee schedule tied to calls for service, and outreach to Fort Huachuca and neighboring jurisdictions about joining the regional dispatch center.
Tammy Jo Wilkins, director of the Southeastern Arizona Communication Center (CECOM), presented a year‑end operations and FY26 budget briefing to council. Wilkins said CECOM’s total incoming calls for calendar year 2024 totaled 195,723 and described a year‑over‑year increase in call volume.
Wilkins said staffing has improved: the center is hiring, with two candidates approaching offer stage and a projected complement of 19 full‑time dispatchers once backgrounds are complete. She said human‑resources processing moved from the city to Cochise County, shortening hire timelines from roughly seven–eight months to about two months, and that training capacity is expanding (communications training officers increased from three to six). In November the center added four new consoles for a total of 10 usable 9‑1‑1 stations and nine fully functional radios.
Wilkins said CECOM is negotiating a draft subscriber agreement with Fort Huachuca for part‑time coverage (she said 50% coverage would mean evening shifts 10 p.m.–6 a.m., weekends and holidays, with coverage for vacation/sick replacement included). Wilkins also described outreach discussions with Graham County and the City of Safford about potential regional consolidation; she said a joint regional subscriber fee schedule approved by the Joint Powers Authority moves the fee basis from a percentage/radio formula to a transparent calls‑for‑service model (illustrated in her example: a subscribing agency’s calls divided by $16 would determine its fee under the new schedule).
Wilkins said CECOM submitted an equipment grant for NextGen 9‑1‑1 items (AT&T/NextGen mapping and Vesta) requesting roughly $295,572.92 to cover NextGen equipment and mapping; she said she expects award notification within about a month. Wilkins presented the proposed FY26 budget and noted personnel, travel and IT increases consistent with additional staff and expanded operations; she reported a projected contribution total of $3,175,448 for member contributions in FY26 under the draft schedule and described continued moves to standardize policies and operations across participating agencies.
Councilors asked about recruitment, bilingual needs at Douglas, and whether Benson and other jurisdictions were likely to join; Wilkins and council members discussed interoperability, grant advantages from regional collaboration and the potential for cost savings for subscribing agencies. No formal council vote on the budget or new subscriber agreements is recorded in the transcript; Wilkins said she would return with further details as negotiations proceed.
